What’s happening in Amsterdam this week

Where to go in Amsterdam: events, concerts and shows worth your night

Amsterdam fits a remarkable amount of culture into a city you can cross by bike in twenty minutes: two of Europe’s most famous music venues facing each other across the Leidseplein, a concert hall that orchestras dream of playing, and the world’s largest electronic music festival every October. Below is where to go in Amsterdam for a night out, with addresses, and what tends to be on when.

Concerts and live music in Amsterdam: Paradiso, Melkweg and the Concertgebouw

Paradiso (Weteringschans 6–8, 1017 SG, paradiso.nl) is a former church by the Leidseplein that has been the city’s main concert venue since 1968: a 1,500-capacity main hall with a balcony, a smaller upstairs room, and club nights after the gigs. Melkweg (Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 1017 PH, melkweg.nl), a former dairy across the square, does the same across several rooms plus a cinema and a gallery. Between them they cover most touring acts. The Concertgebouw (Concertgebouwplein 10, 1071 LN, concertgebouw.nl) is the home of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and one of the finest halls anywhere; the free lunchtime concerts on Wednesdays are the easiest way in. Arena tours play the Ziggo Dome in the south-east.

Amsterdam nightlife: clubs across the IJ and out east

The clubs have moved out of the centre: Shelter (Overhoeksplein 3, 1031 KS), under the A’DAM Tower on the north bank of the IJ, is a two-minute free ferry from Centraal Station and runs techno and house until the morning. Further east, the Amsterdam-Noord and Oost warehouses hold the big collective nights, and several clubs have 24-hour licences. The trams stop around midnight; night buses and bikes take over.

Theatre, opera and dance in Amsterdam

The Dutch National Opera and Ballet share the Nationale Opera & Ballet building on the Amstel (Amstel 3, 1011 PN), with a season from September to July. Internationaal Theater Amsterdam on the Leidseplein is the city theatre, with English surtitles on many nights; the Royal Theatre Carré by the Amstel takes the musicals, circus and the big comedy tours. The Boom Chicago comedy company plays in English every night in the Rozentheater in the Jordaan.

Art galleries and museums in Amsterdam for an evening

The Stedelijk Museum (Museumplein 10, 1071 DJ, stedelijk.nl) is the modern and contemporary art museum, next to the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum on the Museumplein; the Van Gogh opens late on Fridays. Foam, the photography museum on the Keizersgracht, and the galleries around the Jordaan and the Spiegelkwartier fill the smaller end. Once a year, on Museumnacht in early November, fifty museums open until 2 am with music and bars.

Amsterdam festivals and events by season

• Spring: King’s Day on 27 April, the biggest street party in the Netherlands, with free stages and the whole city in orange.
• Summer: the Holland Festival of theatre, music and dance in June; Amsterdam Pride with its canal parade at the start of August; the Grachtenfestival of classical music on the canals in August; and the free Uitmarkt cultural season opener at the end of August.
• Autumn: Amsterdam Dance Event in October, five days and nights of electronic music in every venue in the city; and Museumnacht in November.
• Winter: the Amsterdam Light Festival, art installations along the canals from December to January, and the IDFA documentary festival in November.

Things to do in Amsterdam tonight and this weekend

The listings above are the live version of all this: every concert, show, club night and exhibition on in Amsterdam tonight, tomorrow and this weekend, with times, prices and tickets, updated every hour.